Andy Burnham has been challenged by Reform UK‘s Robert Jenrick to rule out a slew of “eye-watering” tax hikes. Sir Keir Starmer’s successor was accused of planning to raise taxes by £38 billion, amounting to £3,450 per family, in an analysis by Reform.
Mr Jenrick highlighted 10 tax increases the prime minister-in-waiting has previously backed or refused to rule out, including a 10% levy on estates after death, bringing back the 50p top rate of income tax, slapping national insurance on rental income, changing capital gains tax rates and expanding the mansion tax. Mr Burnham is set to enter 10 Downing Street within days, but Mr Jenrick said he has been “dodging scrutiny like the plague”.
Writing in the Daily Express, Reform’s Treasury spokesman said the ex-Greater Manchester mayor had “spent twenty years reaching for other people’s money”.
Mr Jenrick said: “Combined with the top of the £66 billion of tax rises already imposed by Rachel Reeves, Labour could hit more than £100 billion in higher taxes by the next election.
“That amounts to £3,450 per family – eye-watering stuff. All at a time when people are struggling as bills and prices keep going up and up. And when the tax burden is at a post-war record.”
Mr Jenrick added: “We are demanding that Andy Burnham rules out each of the 10 measures he has previously supported. He has no mandate to impose them on the British people.”
The other measures Reform claimed Mr Burnham is eyeing include a graduate tax, a land value tax, a mandatory tourist tax, higher gambling duties and a workplace parking levy.
A spokesperson for Mr Burnham said: “On tax, Andy has been clear that he is committed to the 2024 manifesto. The numbers being circulated by Reform are nonsense and amount to desperate scaremongering.
“For the last decade, Andy has led the fastest-growing city region in the country, boosting incomes and reducing poverty. He is focused on delivering that same good growth in every postcode, raising living standards and giving families breathing space by tackling rising costs.”